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| Eddie breaking a historic run |
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| Archie Griffin |
The game of college football has evolved to feature a variety of ball carrying positions. Like the line between actor and singer has blurred, so have the lines between tight end and wide receiver and running back and wide receiver. The options are endless when you have athletes that have become as big, strong, and fast as athletes are today. Tailbacks, fullbacks, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and even tight ends are carrying the ball nowadays and are scoring threats each time they touch the ball. The game has reached a level of excitement that has college football fan bases as strong as ever. Good coaches find ways to use this versatility to their advantage. The game gives offenses an advantage through the snap count and by allowing the no-huddle offense all of which Ohio State has in their back pocket.
In order for a team to maximize their potential, they must take use all of the advantages that they're given. Ohio State teams of the past have had a great balance between offense and defense, but the offenses rarely seemed to satisfy Buckeye Nation. Fans were always arguing over whether the Buckeyes were capable of more or if a win was a win. The 2002 National Championship season gave the latter argument a lot of power, and where Buckeye fans would never say anything negative about that season, many of them want more. The good news is that more is possible and more is what Urban Meyer wants.
The buzz that has surrounded the hiring of Urban Meyer has turned Columbus into a beehive and will only continue to increase. Coach Meyer got to tour the country last year to see how some of the best programs in the nation operate. The programs that are winning games year in and out like the Oregon's, Alabama's, and LSU's are doing something right. Coach Meyer got to see what they're doing right and is trying to bring the best aspects of each of those programs together into one program. Meyer's vision of Ohio State is to be outright dominant. His offense won't be the same he ran at Florida, the same Coach Herman ran at Iowa State, or the same thing that Oregon runs now. He wants to model his offense after the high-scoring Oregon Ducks, but as Coach Meyer has said, systems don't work; so expect the Buckeyes to run plays that are geared toward player strengths.
Coach Meyer and Herman will run a zone read rushing attack, but don't think that they'll stray from the power game. They both understand Ohio State's roots, and the I-formation hasn't been cut from the playbook. The majority of the running plays will be from the shotgun formation. One of the misconceptions of this zone read option is that balance is lost when compared to the I-formation. This argument is false...when you have a mobile quarterback. This is part of the reason the wildcat formation has been successful. Having a mobile quarterback and running back in the backfield at the same time makes the defense respect the whole field. The zone read will always feature backside play-action which makes the defense stay home and cover the whole box, not just the play side, which will thin the defensive front and prevent them from doing a lot of slanting.
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| Jordan Hall's versatility will be utilized |
The positive of this backfield setup is that Miller is only a sophomore. He's got this season to get comfortable in the offense, and I talked in my previous post about his need for passing improvements. It's hard to really find an area of improvement for running the ball, but that's being said with what he did last year in the other offense. He's very quick, has a nice burst, and probably has one of the best open-field cuts that the Buckeyes have seen on offense in awhile. It'll be interesting to see how effective he is in the running game especially on option plays. Young quarterbacks can get bogged down mentally with the decision making process in the option. Just like the passing game, I expect Meyer to ease Miller into the running game. Utilizing the power running game could be an easy way to get the confidence up in Miller and the backs.
Carlos Hyde has been more of a downhill runner, but I'm anxious to see how he's used in this offense. The Buckeyes have gone through a transformation with Coach Marotti's strength and conditioning program, and Hyde has the natural size to be an outright beast if he puts in a solid offseason. In the past he's lacked agility, not that he simply runs north and south; but he didn't have that quick side step or hard cut to change direction when a defender's approaching quickly. A little improvement in foot speed with Hyde could go a long way.
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| Rod Smith is looking for PT this year |
Rod Smith is a guy that Buckeyes know a little bit about. Like Beanie Wells and Eddie George, Smith struggled with fumbles in his freshman year. Funny thing is, coming out of high school his running style was compared to those two Buckeye backs as well. He looked very raw last year in the little playing time he got, and I'm pretty sure the gap between the top two RB's and the rest is distinct; Smith is a great natural athlete who's looking for his place on the field. You know that Coach Meyer will find a way to get Smith on the field if he's ready.
The depth chart at RB is concluded by the two incoming freshman Bri'onte Dunn and Warren Ball. Ball isn't necessarily expecting to redshirt but that seems to be the general understanding of what will happen. Dunn enrolled early and has taken advantage of the opportunity to learn the offense. The base offense has been set, and we understand that the spring was simply finding where players belonged on the depth chart. Plays will be developed over the summer after the coaches found out what the player's strengths and weaknesses were. Although Dunn is near the bottom of that depth chart list, he has shown that he has the ability to contribute right away. He and Smith will fight for those #3 carries, but I fully expect both of them to get some meaningful carries with Hall being moved around the field. Whoever makes the most of this opportunity will surely be the #3 guy, and I would expect that to be known after a few games.
One of the big question marks with this transitional phase is the offensive line. The field is being spread out which means that offensive linemen will have to be able to hold their own in space. Like the running game, the offensive line needs to possess the perfect combination of power and finesse. This group, which isn't deep, has been pushed hard by Coach Marotti. Many of the linemen cut body fat percent this spring. Reid Fragel made the move from TE to tackle and managed to increase his weight to nearly 300 lbs. while cutting body fat percent.
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| Corey Linsley has had a nice offseason |
Fragel is listed as the early starter at RT with Freshman Taylor Decker on his heels. The rest of the starting line is Marcus Hall at RG, Corey Linsley at C, Andrew Norwell at LG, and Jack Mewhort at LT. There are high hopes for this line which features 4 juniors and only one senior (Fragel). They possess the power to be very effective in the run game but will need to prove themselves in the passing department. I would expect Meyer's offense to have more pulling involved, so guards and centers will be expected to run and engage defenders on the move.
New offensive line coach, Ed Warriner, will be under the spotlight; but most fans are just pleased to be relieved of the old line coach. Warriner will coordinate the run game and will work with Coach Herman in developing and calling plays for the offense. Warriner's background is in a variety of systems which shows that he can adapt to different schemes. Not only was he successful in turning around Notre Dame's OL, but he also was an offensive coordinator for Kansas during some of the programs most successful years. You might remember those years of the Kansas offense when Todd Reesing was running the spread offense. Reesing wasn't a very mobile QB, but in Warriner's first season as OC the Jayhawks averaged over 44 points and just under 500 yards of offense per game. That was the year that KU went 12-1. Coach Warriner has stated that many of the ideas in the KU offense will also be shown in the OSU offense this year. He has brought in ideas to be used in the passing game, so even though he will focus on the running game, he has a firm grasp of how to run the whole offense and benefit the Buckeyes play calling.
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| Coach Ed Warriner |
The running attack is the most dangerous aspect of the Buckeye offense. Unlike the passing game, the running game has proven threats. As I said in the end of Part II - The Aerial Assault, I could see Meyer trying to get as much reps in as possible with the passing game; but the running game will need to be tested as well. Even though it has been the foundation of Ohio State football, this is a new team and has a new approach to the game. I look for some different stuff in the Buckeye offense, such as shovel passes to the TE's or H-back, jet sweeps to WR's, and thoughtful ways to get playmakers the ball. One thing Meyer and Tressel would agree on is that when you get too fancy, you mess up. Meyer will find more creative ways to get guys the ball, but there will still be a very fundamental approach to the game; and when he does decide to throw a wrinkle into the game it'll be well rehearsed. The options are endless with Miller, Hall, and Hyde beside each other; and I would expect Meyer to ride those three in times of need.
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